From Conroversial to the Norm

"All in the Family" vs. "Desperate Housewives"


Before the early 1970's, issues such as homosexuality and racism were deemed too controversial for television. Then in 1971, All in the Family aired on CBS and included issues that had been considered unsuitable for TV in previous years. Today, these problems that Norman Lear brought to the surface are considered normal and are becoming more and more popular in prime time television. 


One contemporary family based TV comedy aired on prime time television is Desperate Housewives. Desperate housewives deals with the some of the same issues as All in the Family, except on a much larger scale. All in the Family introduced questionable material such as homosexuality, racism, rape, cancer, and women's liberation on a family television network. Desperate Housewives covers all of that material and more. For example, they introduced teen homosexuality early into the series and now they have a gay couple moving into the neighborhood. The first male desperate housewives barely caused a commotion with the audience. They also bring in major story lines dealing with abuse, cancer, murder, racism, drugs and sexual promiscuity. On the other hand, when All in the Family  first began bringing up issues just dealing with homosexuality, it brought a large commotion with audiences. Another difference between the two is that Desperate Housewives follows the lives of five to six families which provides more diversity. In addition, Desperate Housewives is a bit more dramatic and far fetched. Issues such as murder do not normally occur in the average household. All in the Family is more realistic. Overall, the main difference is that issues that were extremely controversial during the time of All in the Family has now become the norm and are not thought about in the same way.


The shows are the same in many ways as well. Both obviously deal with families during that time period in society. You can tell the differences in society by watching each of the shows. They also both incorporate humor into it. Both shows have also been aired on prime time television and have had high ratings. All in the Family ranked number one in the Nielsen ratings from 1971 to 1976. Desperate Housewives has won multiple awards and was reported to have 120 million viewers and is the most popular show in its demographic worldwide.


The shows also incorporate different issues into each. All in the Family  dealt with homosexuality in the episode viewed in class, but it also deals with racism, miscarriage, cancer, rape, and women's liberation. The theme of masculinity and sexual orientation are also shown in Desperate Housewives, but not in the same degree as it is shown in All in the Family. Masculinity in particular is not shown on Desperate Housewives. It deals with homosexuality, but does not dwell on the fact that men need to be masculine and tough. Desperate Housewives brings more drama into the picture, with murders and mysteries in the neighborhood. Sexual promiscuity is also dealt with a lot, along with sicknesses, divorce,and teen pregnancy. Many of the neighbors are manipulative and sometimes evil, which brings more controversial topics up.  All in the Family does not deal with as many strong issues as Desperate Housewives since society is not the same as it was during the 1970's. 


Overall, both shows have similar qualities, but they are also very different due to the time period and society. It is obvious how much our entertainment has evolved by comparing and contrasting the two shows. What was once too controversial for television is now considered normal.